Troubleshooting: Amnesia
by AndromedaAI
Summary: An unknown mech crashlands on Earth, badly injured. He can't remember his name, he can't remember who he was. He has to regain his memories, name and all, while coping with this new planet with the help of a girl. But there's a problem - she can't speak a word.
1. That Fateful Meeting

**This is a challenge, from LeaderPinhead, which was originally titled "Amnesia", that I accepted. **

**This story takes place in 2010 - a year after the events of ROTF and year before the events of DOTM. The human race is still reeling from the fact that a Pyramid of Giza was destroyed, and they are slowly rebuilding the pyramid as people try to figure out if the "Alien Robots" that destroyed it are friendly or not.**

**There will be only one main OC, but this story will mainly focus on the "main character" - a Cybertronian - who can't remember who he was.**

**I'm going to have fun with this, I can tell. And because I'm going to have fun with it, I'm going to be careful and make it as realistic as possible.**

**(And I wanted to post something on the last day of 2012, the year people thought the world was going to end.)**

**I hope you like!**

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**Troubleshooting: Amnesia**

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1 – **That Fateful Meeting** – 1

He found himself laying there. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. He couldn't remember. No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't. Why couldn't he remember? This confused him. Had he ever remembered anything before this? He had a strange feeling that he should be remembering something. But what?

He slowly rolled onto his stomach before getting to his hands and knees. Slowly, he breathed in and forced himself to his feet. He stumbled as he straightened, and continued to sway slightly as he looked around. He looked at everything around him with confused blue eyes. Everything around him looked so strange, so unfamiliar. To him, it was all he knew.

It was all he knew, he realized. He couldn't remember where he came from. He couldn't remember if it was far away, or close-by. He looked at the clearing he was in, and scanned everything around him.

He seemed to be standing in a deep dip in the ground—a crater. There were patches of fire here and there. Did he cause that? But how? Had he fallen?

Carefully, he climbed out of the crater and stood up by the edge. He looked at the tall objects standing taller—taller than he was—around the crater. They were tall brown…poles…covered in spikey green things. There were many of them, and when he looked down to where he had found himself, he saw that a few of them were laying down in the bottom. He must have landed on them and brought them down with him. He couldn't remember how he did it, though. And that worried him.

Warily, he left the crater and began to walk between the tall green and brown things that towered over him. His blue eyes looked back and forth, taking in everything as he made his way forward. Something in him told him that he shouldn't be caught off guard, but that quickly faded and he was left confused. He quickly forgot about staying ever vigilant and just focused on finding out where he was.

He broke through the trees eventually and came to something he wasn't quite expecting. A long strip of grey cut across the landscape, and he could pick out the white and yellow lines that framed it. He didn't understand what it was for. What was its use? Was it a landmark? Or was it a lane to travel on?

He blinked and slowly began to cross the strip, unsure if it would suddenly jump up and attack him or not.

But it didn't seem aggressive, he thought as he tip-toed across it, balancing on only a few metal toes. He had to be careful, one wrong move and the grey stuff under him might try to eat him. He didn't want to upset it. Really, he didn't.

He was halfway across the strip of grey when he was suddenly bathed with light from the right. He jerked in surprise before he turned to look at the source of the light. His eyes widened at the sight of the small body of metal racing towards him, mostly obscured by the light. He tensed as it began to blare a noise at him. Something in him screamed, _It's the Strip of Grey! You've incurred its wrath! RUN!_

And that's what he did. Once he regained control of his body, he jumped out of the body's path and performed a somersault. When he got back to his feet, he continued to cross the road, now running, until he was on the other side. There were more brown and green things on this side of the Strip of Grey, and he quickly ran into the cluster of them in order to hide from the body of metal that the Strip of Grey had sent after him.

Little did he know, he was injured and was leaking his life-blood.

* * *

She smiled at the warm sun that shone down on her face, which she had tilted back in order to face the sky. She sighed a soundless sigh of contentment before she opened her green eyes and lowered her head. She gripped the straps of her camo-coloured Roots backpack that hung from her back as she started to walk down the trail. Today was Saturday and it was summer, and she had made it a habit over the last two weeks to go on a hike alone. It was not like her mother or twin sister would have wanted to come with her.

Maxine Xavier, "Maxx" for short, was the twin sister of Summer Xavier, Tranquility High track superstar, and the daughter of Tracey Baxter-Xavier, member of the Neighborhood Watch and head of the Tranquility High school board. Summer and Tracey had blonde hair and looked down on Maxx because of her brown hair and lack of voice. She had lost her voice due to an automobile accident that also claimed her father's life. Without her father, she felt that she had lost her family's respect.

But she didn't care. She was going to have a great day walking through the woods. She was going to forget about her family, she was going to forget that her sister, Summer, had a boyfriend that was the head of the football team, she was going to forget that her mother made the school board agree to restrain her from having a study partner in Chemistry. And she was going to forget that she had no friends, because the ones she had stopped talking to her because they were suddenly wierded out at her lack of voice or because they found it awkward to talk to someone that could only write on paper in order to communicate.

She was going to be free. She was going to be by herself, alone with her thoughts. Nothing was going to interrupt her peace. Nothing.

Maxx skipped up the trail, replaying a song she had heard earlier on the radio in her head. She stopped and looked at every flower she came across, allowing herself to enjoy herself. This was her time, and she wasn't going to waste it.

Eventually, she sat down on a stump and pulled out a water bottle and a small sandwich-bag filled with some trail-mix. She smiled and munched on some of the mix and drank some water as she looked about. The forest was so peaceful. There was a lack of noise, a lack of human _presence_. And for the first time in a while, she felt that she could control her life. That she was in control and not her mother.

She put the food and water away and continued up the trail. She felt so free, and the air was so fresh, that she never wanted to return home. This was truly her element.

Her cell phone suddenly rang, and she felt a sense of dread. What if it was her mother? What if she wanted her to come home? But…what if it was her cousin?

She took out her iPhone and looked at the caller ID. It said "Chelsea Xavier". Good, it was her cousin. Her cousin new she couldn't talk, but often called her in order to grab her attention because Maxx often ignored the beep her phone made when she got a text. So Maxx quickly pressed "Ignore Call" and texted her cousin.

'_I really hate not having a voice, you know. I was ready to say "hello" verbally even though it's been a year already.'_ Maxx wrote.

'_I'm sorry, Maxx. I guess every time I ring ya up, I painfully remind you that ya can't speak.'_ – Chelsea.

'_I'm slowly getting used to it. So…why do you need to talk to me?'_ – Maxine.

'_I hope there isn't any annoyance hidden behind those words, because I didn't mean to annoy you.'_ – Chelsea.

'_Nope, you're not annoying me. So, what's up?'_ – Maxine.

'_Okay, I'll cut to the chase. Did you see the falling stars last night?!'_ – Chelsea.

Maxx was surprised. There had been meteor shower the night before? How had she missed it? She had always enjoyed meteor showers while she grew up. _'When did it happen?'_ – Maxine.

'_At 10 PM. I watched it through my telescope from my balcony. There was this really big one that didn't burn up in the atmosphere and crashed down in the forest where I think you're walking. Are you walking in Carmine Forest?'_ – Chelsea.

'_Aw, crap, I guess I had been sleeping. I was really tired last night.'_ – Maxine.

It took her a few moments before she registered the rest of her cousin's previous text. But by then, Chelsea had already texted her again.

'_Are you hiking in Carmine Forest or not?'_ – Chelsea.

Maxx hesitated. _'Yes…why?'_

'_That meteor might contain harmful radiation and might be polluting the forest as we speak…er…text. You better not spend much more time in the forest.' _– Chelsea.

'_I won't spend much more time out here, I promise.'_ – Maxine.

'_Good. Cause I don't want to hear that my favourite cousin suddenly turns up dead with her insides cooked. It happened in that episode of "Murdoch Mysteries", you know!'_ – Chelsea.

'_But those were microwaves!'_ – Maxine.

'_Same-diff.'_ – Chelsea.

'_Ugh. Well, I'm going now. Text you later!'_ and with that, she turned off the sound of her phone and put it back into her backpack. Her cousin worried about her too much, sometimes. But Maxx was glad someone cared at least.

She sighed and prepared to climb a steep part of the trail when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look at it, even as a slightly oily smell reached her nose. She blinked a few times when she saw the white wildflower. But it wasn't white anymore. There was a blue liquid coating it, slowly turning it blue. _What is that?_ she wondered. She leaned in closer to the flower and sniffed. She recoiled with a look of disgust on her face when she found out that that was the source of the oily smell.

_What could have caused that?_ Maxx wondered. _Could the…could the meteor Chelsea mentioned be causing this?_

Maxx looked up the trail, the sun shining down through the trees, giving her a perfect view of the plants lining the trail. But it wasn't the uneven placing of more blue liquid on rapidly bluing plants that got her right away, it was the large, unsteady, and very, very _alien_ footprints pressed into the trail. Maxx was mentally speechless. But once she could think again, she slapped herself several times in order make sure she wasn't seeing things. But the sight of the footprints never went away.

_What the heck? What could have caused _those_?_ Maxx asked herself.

She ran up to the first footprint and knelt down beside it. She slowly reached down and touched one of the impressions, marvelling at how compact the ground was at the bottom of it. _It was like one of those two-legged robots-tank-things from _Star Wars_ came stomping through here._

She got back to her feet and went to the next footprint. This one wasn't shaped the same as the first one. It was like whatever made this was damaged. She looked up at the top of the hill and began to wall up there. She wondered about who or what had made those prints, and she was curious to find out. But she also worried about the meteor. Could there be radiation in this area? Could it hurt her?

But her curiosity got the better of her and she trudged on. At the top of the hill, she stopped and looked around. She looked carefully to see any sign of a crater or whatever caused the footprints. _I think it was be some form of natural irony if I found out those footprints were caused by a metal sasquatch,_ Maxx thought to herself before she giggled. She walked ahead but stopped when she saw another patch of blue liquid. After seeing so many of them, she figured she should at least check it out before she stopped coming across them. She knelt down by it and studied it. Wondering what it would do if it touched something dead, she picked up a dried out stick and poked it. It did nothing.

That intrigued her. But before she could investigate it further, she heard something. She looked up abruptly and gazed around cautiously. She jumped in surprise when it came again.

It sounded like a whine of some sort. But it also sounded electronic, as if a machine in distress had made it. The whine was full of pain though, so she doubted it came from a machine. Maxx slowly got to her feet, her green eyes taking in everything around her, trying to find out the source of the noise.

It came again, and her heart went out to it in sympathy. It reminded her of a wounded cat or a lonely infant. Maxx focused on the direction the whine had come from. It came from her left, so she dashed into the forest.

She took long strides as she dashed between trees and jumped over roots that threatened to trip her. The pack on her back weighed down heavily, threatening to make her slow down and thus lose the source of the whine she heard. But she fought against it, even when she broke out into a sweat and she had to take deep gulps of air.

Her father, before he died, told her that her great soft spot for infants and animals would make her a great vet or nurse someday. She smiled fondly as she thought about how that soft spot was driving her now.

The sound came again, steering her a little towards the right before she came to the edge of a clearing. But she stopped there.

Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of a large figure laying limp against a large boulder like a large ragdoll. Its chest rose and fell weakly. It keened, showing Maxx that it was the source of the whines. But her heart didn't melt this time at the sound, though it tried.

The figure before her was tall. It wasn't human, it looked like a giant robot. It _was _a giant robot. A robot that had to be dozens upon dozens of feet tall. Or maybe it was slightly shorter than that. Maxx couldn't tell, and it was hard to figure out because her conscience was constantly screaming at her to run away. Maxx swept her gaze over it, taking in its distinctly male-like form and the grey metal it was comprised of. The blue liquid she kept coming across was slowly leaking from several points in his frame. It—he looked to be in a lot of pain, and she wondered what could have caused him to be in such pain.

Her kindness quickly overrode her fear, and she carefully stepped towards him. But then she remembered, how was she supposed to speak to him without a voice?

Suddenly, he was looking down at her was a pair of laser-blue eyes. A stricken look appeared on his face, and he tried to get away from her. At his flailing, Maxx silently yelped and dashed backwards, away from him. This caused him to pause. He looked at her carefully before he collapsed onto his back, obviously exhausted.

Maxx was breathing hard. She didn't know what to do. Was he going to attack her? What if he was dying? How could she help him? If he didn't hurt her, how was she supposed to patch him up?

She didn't know what to do. The fear was slowly creeping back, threatening to consume her.

But when the robot didn't move, she slowly gathered up the courage to walk over to him and touch him. She mentally encouraged herself. _You can do this, Maxx. He's hurt. Go check if you can help him. Oh crap, who am I kidding? He probably doesn't even know how to speak English!_ But before she could back out, she forced herself to stride slowly across the expanse that separated her from the robot.

She walked lightly past his feet and then his legs, her own legs tingling with adrenaline. She clenched her fists in order to keep them from shaking as adrenaline raced through her arms as well. She passed his torso, and then walked around his splayed out arms and hands before she made it to his head.

Maxx was now forcing herself not to shake as she came to a stop by his head. Her breaths were coming out unevenly as her chest seemed to tighten in anxiety. _You can do this_, she told herself. _You can tell him you're right next to him without using your voice._ So, with the last of her courage, she stepped forward and reached out, placing her hand on his cheek.

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**Well...I hope that got you hooked. See you next chapter and in the New Year!**


	2. Dent

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it. I'm so happy with all the reviews I got! You guys are awesome! The review responses are at the bottom.**

"talking"

**"Cybertronian"**

_Thinking_

'_Maxx's notes'_

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2 – **Dent** – 2

Her hand rested against his warm metal cheek for the fraction of a second before he jerked in what she could only guess was surprise. Swiftly, he turned his head and looked at her with those laser-blue eyes. She stood there, unmoving, feeling like all the air had flowed from her lungs. Her mouth was open slightly from shock and her eyes were impossibly wide. She didn't know what to do. She had gotten his attention, but she still couldn't tell him who she was!

Quickly, she took her notebook out of her pocket along with a pen. She always kept those in her pocket just in case she ran into someone when she was alone. Hastily, she scribbled onto a clean sheet: _'Do you speak English? Can you read this?'_ she then showed the piece of paper to him. She watched as he focused on the paper. He seemed to study it deeply, as if it was the first time he had seen the language. But then he looked her in the eye, and answered her fears. And her fears were for naught.

"Yes, I can read that. Why do you ask?"

He answered her slowly, sluggishly. But his voice! It was so different! It sounded tinny—robotic even. Yet it held the male undertones of a voice you would hear from a normal human male. A relieved look appeared in her eyes as she looked at him, but she didn't write anything else on the paper yet. She waited for him to ask another question, in which he did.

"Well? Are you going to say something?"

Her perky look dropped at that. She quickly tore the used sheet of paper off of the pad and scribbled on a fresh page. _'I can't speak. I am mute. An accident took my voice from me.'_ She showed him the pad again and watched as he read what she wrote. His expression went from calm to slightly upset.

"I am sorry…for your loss."

'_It's okay. I'm getting used to it. But this is how I communicate.'_

"I…see…"

She smiled. _'My name is Maxine Xavier, but you can call me Maxx. What's your name?'_

After he had finished reading her latest note, he paused to think, but then grew worried. "I can't…I can't remember…"

Maxx's eyes widened. _'Y-you can't remember? That's horrible!'_

"Indeed," he sighed. He turned his head and looked up at the sky, which was a bright blue. Like his lifeblood. "I feel lost, disjointed from reality. How is one to go about without a name? How is one supposed to talk to me when they don't know who I am, even when _I_ don't even know who I am."

Maxx crawled up onto his chest, trusting him enough not to accidentally hurt her since he seemed so docile. She sat down on the edge of the metal that protected his neck, like the collar of a shirt. She held up another note for him to see. _'Do you want another name until you can remember your original one?'_ she blinked innocently.

He read the note before he looked her in the eye again. There was a pause as they both just seemed to regard each other in silence. But then he said, "I can't think of a possible name for myself. Do you…do you have a suggestion?"

She held up another note. _'I haven't seen you in action yet, because I have a feeling that a guy like you got your name from your actions—like a rank.'_ She held up another note. _'But just by looking at you, I think…'_ She lowered the notebook and stared at him. Her green eyes studied him as she thought about a good name idea. Her face brightened as an idea came to mind. _'I know! You have a small dent in your cheek, so would it be okay if I called you "Dent"?'_

After he had read the note, he pondered the offered name for several minutes. But then he smiled slightly. "It will do."

_I hope no one will laugh at the name "Dent",_ Maxx mused.

"Dent" went to get to his feet, but Maxx, noticing this, forcefully sat down on the tender-looking cables on his neck. Dent grunted and was forced to lay back down. She held up another note with a glare. _'You are really hurt. You're leaking blue stuff all over the place. I don't think it's wise for you to move just yet.'_

"Blue…stuff…?" Dent repeated slowly. Maxx nodded vigorously and pointed down at a slow stream of the 'blue stuff' that was leaking from his shoulder. He took it in before his eyes almost widened comically. "I—I'm leaking!" he exclaimed. He sat up abruptly, sending Maxx sprawling heavily to the ground.

The world spun, and it took a while for her body to realize that she was laying down now. When her vision straightened, she sat up and saw her notebook and pen laying five feet from where she was sitting. So she crawled over to them and picked them up. Then she scribbled furiously on the pad for several seconds as Dent laid back down, seemingly exhausted one more. _He must of lost a lot more of that blue stuff then I realized,_ Maxx mused gravely as she finished her note and tore it from the book.

Scrambling back onto his chest, she gave him a look that said 'Be more careful, moron' before she lifted up the note into his view. _'Be careful when you sit up like that! I could have gotten hurt.'_

He sighed after he read the note and allowed his head to thunk back against the ground. He blinked a few times and silence settled down on the clearing again. "I guess…this is when I'm supposed to say 'I'm sorry'?" He didn't look back up at her.

She stood up on his "collar" and leaned forward. When she was about to tip over, she stopped, her face appearing in his sight (by the way the glowing blue rings that made up his irises focused on her). She nodded, indicating that she had accepted his apology.

He sighed again before he suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. "I just saw something…" he said, puzzled. "Words just appeared in the sky." Maxx glanced upward questioningly, but then returned her attention to him. "They're telling me that my 'Energon Levels' have dropped to 18%. It demands that I 'find more Energon or an alternate source of fuel'. W-what does that mean?"

Maxx thought about it for a few seconds, tapping her finger against her chin. But then she began to scribble more writing onto a fresh page in her notebook. She ripped it out and showed it him. _'This must be appearing on a "Heads-Up Display". The alternate source of fuel could be gasoline.'_ She dropped that note and wrote another one. She showed him it. _'I know where there's a gas station. It's just—or not even—half a kilometer from here. It's where hikers can take a break and get something to eat. I'll get some for you.'_

"Uh…alright. J-just don't let any of those 'hikers' hurt you," Dent said quietly.

Maxx grinned. _'Silly. "Hikers" are people like me! But I'll be careful. I'm thankful that you care.'_ With that, she stuffed her notebook into her pocket along with the pen, and jumped off of him. She waved back at him before she dashed off into the trees, ripping shreds of her used notes to mark a trail so that she wouldn't forget her way.

* * *

She ran as fast as she could up the trail. Her backpack bounced lightly against her back, since she didn't pack much for her hike, and it allow her to run quickly as she made her way up the trail and towards the gas station.

_I wonder why I didn't freak out more when I met Dent? I could have at least _screamed_. But then again, I can't speak so no sound would have come out,_ she thought. _I must have viewed him as some large…tall…person—not some scary robot. And he was hurt…_ She shook her head and continued to run. By the time the gas station came into view, she was panting, and slightly sweaty.

She slowed to a stop and walked the rest of the way, hoping the redness in her face (caused by her exertion) would fade by the time she reached the gas station. She stepped up to the front door and entered the station, beginning to regain her breath. Inside, she smiled when she was blasted by air-conditioned air. It had been getting quite hot when the trees had begun to thin out.

Maxx walked over to where the jerrycans were on display, and looked for the biggest one. Dent needed to get a lot of liquid into him, and he needed it fast. She took a 5.3 gallon, red, jerrycan and quickly walked to the front. Her heart began to flutter in worry for her new friend as she came to stand in line behind a mountain biker and a trucker who had stopped to grab some lunch. She began to tap her foot in what, to others, looked to be impatience. But truthfully, she was worried.

But every minute she spent longer, the more Dent lost that blue stuff. The more blue stuff leaked from him, the weaker he got. Maxx didn't want anyone else to see him. Giant robot + possible extraterrestrial background = possible government involvement and disturbance. She didn't want that. She had heard the rumors of how, if the government got their hands on an "alien", they would dissect them, learn about them, and probably take their technology. Maxx didn't want something like that to happen to Dent.

Her turn came, and she smiled at the man behind the counter. She knew this man, since he ran the things she bought here on her hike through the till every time. "What will it be today, Maxx?" he asked kindly.

Maxx placed the note on the countertop next to the jerrycan so that he was able to read it. _'Can you fill this up? My car ran out of gas when I reached the beginning of trail.'_ It was a lie, and she knew it. But she kept her face neutral in order to not let the man, Mr. Joe Whit, know she was lying.

He smiled at her and nodded. She paid for it before he lead her out to one of the gas pumps. He filled it up, and sent her back down the trail with a smile. Maxx waved back at him before she began to lug the jerrycan back to where her new out-of-this-world acquaintance lay.

And the farther she got down the trail, the heavier the jerrycan seemed to become. She wasn't much of a heavy lifter. The most she could heft without being uncomfortable was twenty to thirty pounds. This seemed to weigh more, to her anyway. By the time she reached the area where she saw the beginning of her paper-bit trail, her shoulders ached so much she was worried her arms were going to pop out of her shoulder-sockets. She took deep breaths, glad for once that no sound came out.

She followed the small pieces of paper until she reached the clearing. There, she stumbled across it until she came to Dent's side. She blinked and set the jerrycan down as she noticed how still Dent was. She wiped the sweat off of her brow, seeing how he just laid there. She touched his side, wanting him to sit up. Dent stirred, and looked at her, his eyes dim to the point of almost being dark. It made her heart wobble in worry.

'_Can you sit up? I've got an alternate source of fuel.' _She watched him blink before he dug his fingers into soft forest floor. She watched as he painfully heaved himself into a sitting position. The metal he wore seemed to vibrate and shiver as he slumped forward slightly, showing how low on energy he was. Awkwardly, Maxx guided one of his hands to the jerrycan. He picked it up, took the lid off, and brought it to his lips.

Maxx watched with fascination as he seemed to _drink_ the gasoline, using the jerrycan like a cup. As his body seemed to accept it, his eyes brightened. That made her smile slightly in relief.

Dent put the jerrycan down, now that it was empty, and narrowed his eyes. "Those words tell me that my 'systems' have accepted the gas-o-leene. But it won't be long before I will need more. It seems that my system consumes a lot." He seemed stronger now. He slowly got to his feet, and Maxx gaped up at him as he straightened.

The trees still towered over him, but Maxx felt very small beside him. His ankle came up to her waist, making him really, really tall. Maybe eighteen or nineteen feet tall.

She saw how he was right about it not being long before he would have to refuel. She had forgotten to think about his gashes and cuts and scrapes. They continued to leak the blue stuff (she contemplated if it was his version of blood. Maybe it was), and Maxx wondered if there was a possibility that robots like Dent could heal themselves, like cuts on humans eventually sealed up and disappeared on their own. It seemed that Dent couldn't remember anything, so she doubted he would remember if his body could do anything like that.

"My…my 'Heads-Up Display' as you call it, tells me I need to find a new 'alternate-mode'. What is an alternate-mode?" Dent looked down at her.

Maxx's eyebrows rose. She shrugged. She wrote another note before she held it up. Dent bent down and read it. _'I don't know. What does it look like?'_

He blinked once before a far way look appeared in his eyes. "It has four…um…I think they're called wheels?"

Maxx contemplated this. Four wheels. Well, cars had four wheels. Could he make a car his alternate mode? She asked him this.

"I do not know, Maxx…" a lost expression appeared on his face. "It's like I should know these things. But I do not. It frightens me." he grimaced.

Maxx frowned sadly. _'I know. It would scare me too. But let's go check it out. A lot of cars drive up and down this road. Maybe you could pick out one you like…?'_ She waited for an answer as he thought heavily about this. All the while, blue liquid continued to leak from him, but it seemed to have slowed some.

When he nodded, she smiled slightly. She held up another note. _'Let's go, then. I'll lead you down to where my car is, and while you hide among the trees, you can choose an alternate-mode.'_ He nodded again, but this time in confirmation. Maxx smiled again before she lead him to the path, and then back to the car. It wasn't too far, actually, since she had barely started her hike before she came across Dent.

She skipped some before she reached her vehicle, a beat-up old yellow VW Beetle. She stood by it as Dent stood between some of the trees that lined the road, not doing very well to blend himself in with his surroundings. Maxx watched the road as an old Chevy Impala rolled by. A minute or so later, a goldenrod-yellow Camaro with black racing stripes zoomed by, making Maxx's smile a little bit wider. She liked Camaros, but she had a feeling Dent wouldn't choose that car.

A 1995 Ford pickup truck rumbled past next, before a sporty looking Dodge Dart Aero shot by. She watched it disappear around the corner before she heard Dent's heavy footfalls. She turned and looked up at him, shock slowly registering on her face.

He looked so different. White metal now covered his body, over the grey metal he had been just wearing before. Two wings stuck out of his back, and they looked like the front doors of the Dart. His chest looked to be covered by the front of the Dart—like the grill, headlights, and bumper was pressed right up against his chest like a chest-plate. From below his chest down to his waist, the grey metal from before was exposed. From his waist down, there was white metal that covered his hips, pelvis, and legs. His feet were covered in more white metal. She could see that he had metal toes that kept the sole of his feet off of the ground.

His arms were covered in more of that white metal, and his hands were not covered in much of it. Maxx looked up at him in awe, not quite believing his "transformation". Finding an "alternate-mode" did this to a robot like him? Wow.

"I've found out another thing about myself, Maxx," he said in a calm voice with a small smirk on his face. "I can turn into a 'car'."

* * *

Sam Witwicky chuckled as Bumblebee tore down the road that cut through Carmine Forest. Sam loved it when he went on drives with his guardian. It was just them, the open road, and kickaft songs. They were on the road this time, because Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, asked them to check out a possible Cybertronian landing sighting. A comet/meteor-like object was seen falling from the sky, and it crashed down in Carmine Forest. With Optimus and the other Autobots still on Diego Garcia, Bumblebee and Sam were the closest Autobot and Autobot ally to the crash-site.

As they came to a stop at a gas station, Sam couldn't help but continue to chuckle at something Bumblebee had seen while driving through town. Someone had obviously been into someone's alcoholic beverages, because a biker had been wobbling on his motorbike before he crashed into some trashcans and been flung from his bike. He didn't know why it was funny—maybe it was because he was around an Autobot almost all the time—but for some reason, seeing someone else's misfortune on a _non-sentient_ vehicle cracked him up.

The nineteen year old got out of his friend before looking around. No one was out and no one was looking at them, so it was safe for 'Bee to transform. "'Kay, 'Bee," Sam said lowly. With an audible _whirr_, Bumblebee transformed up to his robot-form. Quickly, he scooped up the human and walked off across the highway and into the trees.

Sam was quiet was his guardian walked down the hiking path. It was strangely quiet for the Carmine Hiking Trail, but they didn't mind, because that meant no one was there to see them. That would be bad.

They scouted around for a few minutes before they came across signs of the crash. A few more minutes and they came across the crater.

Sam gulped at the sight of the crash-site. There were trees in the bottom of the crater and a few patches of ground were still smoking. But what caught there attention was the large puddle of processed Energon. _"Uh-oh_," Bumblebee said, using a clip of a young girl's voice.

"That's not good, right?" Sam said. "The Cybertronian is damaged. Where is he now?" He looked up at his guardian. Bumblebee shrugged.

Quickly, the scout comm'ed Optimus before they rushed out of the forest. As soon as he was clear, he transformed down around Sam and took off down the road. On the way, they passed a girl standing next to a beat-up old VW Bug.

* * *

**Pointers towards G1 Bumblebee with Maxx's beat-up VW Beetle. :D Hoped you liked it.**

* * *

**LeaderPinhead:** Thanks! I hope I do not disappoint.

**ZabuzasGirl: **Well, I updated, didn't I? Sorry it took so long.

**zrexheartz:** Thanks! I'm glad.

**Iceshadow911247: **Thanks, really? That's cool! Yeah, the inability to speak is a strength, but I also see it as a weakness because she can't shout for help. If a kidnapper took her, she wouldn't be able to call for anyone's help.

**sweettea1: **Glad it got you hooked. Now you know a bit more Maxx and "Dent".

**sunnysides4life:** I'm glad its original. I'm trying to make my stories more original, like Lunar Mist. :D My stories are usually previously used story ideas.

**heavenslilagl420: **You know more about the mech now! Thanks!

**MetalHyena:** Thanks!


	3. Got to Get Away

**Yeah, so here's the next chapter. Love the reviews, guys! Love 'em! **

**NEWSFLASH!: I'm going to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in THREE DAYS! Via train! It takes one and a half days to get to Vancouver City from where I live, giving me all that time to write while gazing out at turquoise-blue lakes. But when I sleep, I'll have to take medicine so my ears don't pop as we go over the mountains. Ouch. Hopefully, it won't be bubble-gum flavoured XP**

**What chapters will pop up while I'm gone? If I can combat my **_**Transformers: Animated**_** plot bunnies, then look out for new chapters for **_**Mikaela Cody Prime**_** (MCP),**_** A Different Shade of Crimson**_** (DSC), **_**Short Stuff**_** (SS), this story, or **_**We Are Not Alone**_** (WANA). The most likely to be updated are DSC, because its close to being half finished, MCP, because I have already started the chapter, WANA, because I'll be bringing the movie with me in order to "keep myself busy on the train", this story, because I love it so much, and SS, because the next chapter is already start. So in all, there's a big chance that all the stories I'm working on might be updated.**

**So hold tight! I might even get another chapter in before I go!**

* * *

3 – **Got to Get Away** – 3

'_Show me,'_ Maxx wrote. _'Show me how you can turn into a car.'_ When Dent told her that his new "alternate-mode" granted him the ability to turn into a car, she had been stunned. But what was she expecting? That he stayed as a robot and somehow had to traverse without being seen? No, if he needed an "alternate-mode" he could turn into a car.

Dent looked down at her, an uncertain look on his face. "I can try…but…how do I do it?"

Maxx resisted the urge to facepalm, telling herself that Dent didn't know who he was, he couldn't remember. So it was logical he couldn't remember how to turn into a car—if that was even what he had transformed into back before he had lost his memory. _'Maybe it's by instinct. Did you instantly turn into a car after you scanned it or something?'_

Dent sighed and nodded. "Yes, and it took a lot of will power to get me back to this form," he told her.

'_Well, use that will power again, and make yourself turn back in a car. Just think: transform, or "turn me back into a car". Try anything.'_

The tall robotic being looked down at her uncertainly. "A-are you sure?" he asked.

Maxx nodded encouragingly.

He smiled slightly, though it wavered and quickly disappeared. He closed his eyes and tensed. His wings rose slightly, stiff. He frowned hard in concentration, before a _chrrr-chrrr-chrrr_* noise sounded from within him. At the noise Maxx's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't expecting the noise. She continued to watch him before suddenly, the metal on his legs fused together to form the outer shell of the back-end of the car, and the metal that made up his legs melded together to form the innards of the back end. That forced him down onto his stomach as his head disappeared and his chest pushed out to form the front of the car. The windshield appeared and the roof came and connected to it. The last thing to click into place was his doors.

The brunette grinned. She wanted to shout "Good job, Dent!" but she remembered that she couldn't because she couldn't speak. So she resorted to clapping her hands appraisingly with a large grin on her face. She ran over to the driver's side door and got in. But as soon as her butt was in contact with the seat, Dent yelped. His whole frame jumped up about a foot from the ground in surprise before he landed stiffly on his wheels.

"W-what are you d-doing?!" he asked shrilly.

Maxx patted the seat before she wrote another note. _'You are a car, in a matter of speaking. I wanted to see how you would react to someone sitting in you. Don't worry, I won't be sitting in you on the way back to my home.'_

"It feels weird, Maxx! I can feel even the smallest of your movements! C-can you please get out? Please?" Dent pleaded. Maxx was surprised, but quickly got out of him and walked over to her VW Bug. But then she walked back over to Dent and held up another note.

'_I'm going to lead the way back to my home, because I'm not leaving you out here alone. You'll have to park down the street though, so Mom doesn't see you. Can you move without leaving your alternate-mode?'_

"I…I can try…"

And with that, Maxx carefully stepped away. She watched as Dent twitched several times before his engine gave a roar. It sounded slightly frustrated. Maxx wrote another note and stepped up to him. _'There are two pedals near your engine that are used by humans to make the car move forward. If you can feel one of those—more importantly, the one that makes you GO—then you'll go.'_ Maxx wasn't the best teacher. She really never had been a car before.

She watched as Dent continued to try and move forward. He twitched sporadically, and his engine grunted. But with a mighty roar, he suddenly jumped forward. Maxx mentally squeaked and backpedaled out of the way.

Dent's breaks squealed as he came to a stop in front of her. "I can 'drive' now. I think."

Maxx smiled and held up another note. _'Good. Follow my car. Stay behind it at all times. If we get separated look for the number on the plate attached to the back bumper of my car. 111937. That's the number.'_

Dent turned his front wheels back and forth in a nod. "Lead the way," he said.

The girl got into her car and turned it on. The car coughed a couple times before black smoke billowed out of the exhaust. Maxx knew her car was in bad shape, but it was all she could afford, since she had had to save up for it on her own. She knew it could probably die while she drove it, but she would have to deal with it until it fell to pieces around her.

She lead Dent out onto the road and made sure he was following her by glancing in her rear-view mirror every few seconds.

* * *

Maxx pulled up in front of her home, and put the VW Bug in park. With a sigh, she took her backpack and left the jerrycan in the backseat as she emerged from the relic of a car. She glanced down the street, where she saw Dent had situated himself. It was in front of a house that was usually empty because the guy who lived in it usually was off doing work in Hawaii. Dent just parked himself, and when he saw her looking at him, he flashed his headlights. Maxx smiled, wondering if Dent was getting more and more used to his body.

She waved to him before she disappeared into her house, bracing herself for any one-sided shouting matches if she came across her mother. She didn't want to run into her mother, because that would definantly shatter the happy mood she had obtained that afternoon. So she decided she would try to be as quiet as she could.

Carefully, she bent down and untied her hiking boots. Slowly, she lifted her feet out of them before she grabbed them and quickly rushed up to her room, which was in the attic. Maxx didn't want her mother getting her hands on her hiking boots. They were a good brand she had picked up from Marks Work Warehouse. Her mother had already taken two pairs of her shoes before and had given them to Summer, black and white checkered converse and a pair of grey and pink sneakers.

Maxx realized how sick and tired she had become of her mother's antics. What did she see in Summer that she didn't see in her? Maxx wondered if her mother even loved her anymore, and that threatened to shatter her heart.

The brunette put her hiking boots under her bed and placed them next to a pair blue converse and a pair of black sneakers. Her mother never came up to her room, so she didn't have to worry about anything being stolen. Summer didn't even like the attic, so she never went up there either.

Maxx sighed and looked at the other items that were stashed under the bed. There were a couple Marvel Comics, a dusty old piggy-bank her father had gotten her when she was six, a jewellery box that didn't hold much, and a picture. It was of her and her father.

She crawled out from under the bed in time to hear her mother and twin leave for a dinner out, leaving her to make her own dinner and eat it alone—again. She frowned, a thread of anger making itself known in her chest. Why did she put up with all this neglect? She was old enough to be living on her own while going to a collage/university (but she couldn't afford it because her mother would never pay for it). It was summer now, of course, and Grade 12 was only a memory, so she could leave…

It wasn't like her mother would care.

She got to her feet and put on the converse. They were comfy, and she guessed she could wear them for a while before her feet got sore. She then grabbed her hiking boots and sneakers and stuffed them into her duffel bag along with the picture of her and her father, her laptop, and some of the old TV series she had managed to collect over the years. After that, clothing went into the duffel bag until it was full. She then took out her backpack and filled it with her toiletries and her cell phone before she hiked downstairs, lugging her duffel bag.

Quickly, she made a small sandwich as dinner before stuffing random bits of food like chips, a package of string-cheese, a few water bottles, and some left-over chicken nuggets from the night before were thrown into a lunch bag and stuffed into the backpack. As an afterthought, some trail-mix was added as well. That would last her a little bit before she had to start buying food. Maxx had an okay amount of money left in her bank account, but that wouldn't last forever.

She picked up her duffel bag again and hurried out of the house. She left the keys for her run down car and rushed over to where she saw Dent sitting next to the sidewalk. She stopped next to him and took a deep breath before she opened his trunk and threw her duffel bag into it. She slammed the trunk closed, and Dent yelped.

"M-Maxx? What are you doing?!"

The girl quickly wrote a note and held it up for him to see. _'I'm leaving this place. I don't think I've told you yet, but my mom and my sister haven't treated me that nicely for a long time.'_ She held up another note. _'I have to make my meals; I have to work in order to pay for anything. I lost my job a few weeks ago. Nothing's holding me back here.'_

"Th-that means you're going to climb inside me again…right?" Dent said nervously. Maxx thought it was kind of weird how nervous he sounded, since the voice he had was deep-ish and sounded like it was supposed to, or might have, belong to someone with little emotion—or was brave most of the time. His face said the same thing. "It felt weird having you inside me. If you sit in me, you might break something."

Maxx slanted him an "are you kidding me?" look. _'You are a giant robot that towers over me when you are not a car. I'm not going to break anything when I get in you. I'm gentle.'_

"Are you_ sure_?" he questioned.

'_I'm double sure, Dent.'_

Her note was met by silence, so she took it as acceptance. She walked around to the driver's door, opened it, and got in. Quickly, she closed it behind her and threw her backpack into the back seat. She clipped the seatbelt on and gripped the steering wheel before she got an idea and wrote another note.

'_Can I…drive you? At least until we're out of town? I know almost all the on-ramps and off-ramps leading onto and off of the highway that runs through Tranquility.'_ She looked at him (or the steering wheel, since she didn't know where else to look) hopefully.

After several seconds of silence, a sigh crackled out from the radio, drawing her attention to it. "Alright. But…be careful."

'_Thanks.'_

And with that, she shifted him out of park, shoulder checked to make sure no other cars were on the road, and pulled out. She drove down the street a bit before she glanced in the rear-view mirror. _Goodbye. And…good riddance._

* * *

Maxx had driven out onto the highway, but hadn't let go. She had asked him, using notes, if he knew any of the American traffic laws yet. When he said he didn't, Maxx asked him if he had an internet connection. He was a robot, so why wouldn't he be able to connect to the internet. After some silence, which she guessed was because he was searching himself for that internet connection; he confirmed that he had an internet connection. She then told him to use it to look up the American traffic laws. She was not going to allow him to drive himself anymore until she knew he could drive safely.

For hours he searched the internet and read every scrap of information about American traffic laws. Maxx was calm as she drove, going the posted speed limit. She didn't write anything, since she was driving, but she didn't have to ask what had him so quiet. She knew he was using an internet connection, even though they were in the middle of nowhere where there were no internet-supporting towers anywhere in a fifty-mile radius. It was just desert.

Eventually, she pulled over to the side of the highway and wrote a note. _'How are you holding up, Dent? Are you still leaking the blue stuff?'_

"I'm not leaking anymore, but I'll have to refuel soon. My 'Energon Levels' are falling again."

'_We'll fix it. We just passed a sign saying that there's town coming up in the next few kilometers. We'll fuel up there.'_

And with that, she allowed Dent to take over. He pulled out back onto the highway, and Maxx sat back. She watched the sun set slowly, turning the sky pink, and her eyes slowly grew heavy. And without realizing it, she dropped off to sleep.

* * *

Dent was starting to enjoy himself with Maxx inside him. He was still a little paranoid about having something living inside of him, and he wasn't sure he'd allow anyone else to sit inside him because of it. _So…I must be making an exception…_ he thought. He was surprised, no, _shocked_, when Maxx suddenly jumped into him at the forest. But when she listened to him and backed off when he told her he didn't like the feel of her inside him, something inside him clicked. Something inside him told him as he sat near her house that he could trust her. Was it from his old life—the one he couldn't remember?

Why couldn't he remember? What was keeping him from remembering?

He wanted to figure out who he was. He didn't like feeling so disjointed from reality, where everyone around him knew who they were while he knew nothing about himself at all.

And now he was in the middle of nowhere, in the shape of what Maxx called a "car", on a planet he did not know. Just him and Maxx.

"Maxx…where are we going?" he asked after the silence became a little heavy.

When he didn't get a response, he turned his attention inwards. He choked a little when he saw Maxx asleep in the driver's seat.

He was alone.

* * *

*That transforming noise you hear some of the Transformers emit when they transform _reeeaaalllyyy ssslllooowwwlllyyy_… Like Blackout in TF1. He made the transforming sound just before he exploded into a mass of alien machinery—if you get what I mean. So "_chrrr-chrrr-chrrr_" means the transforming sound! :D

* * *

**Ninnasims3:** Well, I don't think the learning-to-drive part was funny, but I think the part when Maxx first sat down in him was pretty funny. The story has just begun, so get ready for Autobots, Decepticons, brawls, and general human craziness!

**KayleeChiara:** Glad you like it. This is currently one of my favourite stories to write.

**sweettea1:** Well, you'll get to know about Dent more soon! I just wanted to get a good start to the story before he begins to remember things. I have to be careful not to make it seem too rushed :)

**Tai Prime:** Thanks!

**icanhascamaro:** Yep, gas is heavy. It's like lugging a cooler full of water bottles—full water bottles—out of a van, up a set of stairs, and into the house. Sorta.

**MetalHyena: **Why, thank you! *blushes*

**Iceshadow911247:** I was thinking about what cars would drive by when Maxx was waiting for Dent to choose his alt. I think I was thinking about my driving lessons I took during the summer, because I remember seeing a yellow Camaro with black racing stripes sitting across the intersection at a stop sign. For a second I thought _it had no driver_. But then I saw this curly haired guy sitting in the driver's seat. So that inspired Bee to make an appearance with Sam.

I'm still keeping a lookout for that Camaro I saw during driving lessons. Good one, Bumblebee. You activated your holoform before I could make sure it was you!

So, so close, I know. More close shaves to come!

**LeaderPinhead:** I don't think its mean. But that's my opinion. I don't think Dent can handle being chased by another of his kind just yet. I've always liked VW Bugs, they're cute, but every time I try to say VW Beetle, I end up saying "VW Beagle". *rolls eyes* I guess that happens when my mother owns a Beagle dog.

**zrexheartz:** Thanks :D

**Topkicker26: **Who do you think it is? PM me your answer, I don't want anyone else to get any clues XD. Glad you're hooked.

**STARSCREAM RULEZ:** Great idea, amigo. Dent will start figuring out who he is soon… :D


	4. On the Road

**I don't believe refueling a Cybertronian like you refuel a car is offencive, so in this story, Dent won't scream at Maxx for refueling him that way. It's not like he can transform right outside the gas station, anyway. At least not yet.**

**But anyway, I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I had a little bit of writer's block, and then my Nana (my father's mother) died. So it was a little bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. But I wrote the chapter! I hope you get a kick out of a few things, because I tried to make it humorous.**

**Oh, and I realized something that makes me facepalm. Dent's alt is a Dodge Dart, right? Well this story takes place in 2010, and the Dart didn't come out until 2013 XD But I've made up a story to make up for that mistake. For this universe, anyway. Okay, so the Dart Maxx saw driving by in chapter 2 was a concept car being tested. Ugh, what a mistake!**

* * *

4 – **On the Road** – 4

When Maxx woke up, she saw that Dent had parked himself just outside a gas station. She blinked a few times as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A silent yawn escaped her as she looked at Dent's clock. It was eight in the morning, meaning that the gas station might have just opened.

Maxx sat there silently. She looked at the gas pumps that were illuminated from spotlights above. The sky was streaked with orange, showing that the sun was ready to launch itself into the sky where it would keep everything under it warm. Maxx yawned again before she heard Dent emit a strange noise from his radio. She looked at it and listened for the noise. It came again, and Maxx realized that Dent was snoring. He must have fallen asleep while he waited for her to wake up.

Her heart sunk a little. She had fallen asleep on him, and he barely knew anything about her home planet. So she did him a favour and allowed him to continue sleeping. Gently, she touched the keys that were in the ignition and slowly turned his engine on. He didn't stir, and Maxx smiled as she slowly pulled up to the nearest pump. Turning his engine off, she put him in park and opened the door. She got out and closed the door behind her after she locked it.

She walked into the gas station and paid for gas before she walked back outside and over to the sentient car. Quietly, she moved the piece of metal that guarded the gas cap out of the way, and took the gas cap off. Then she took the nozzle off of the pump and carefully stuck it into the hole that lead to the gas tank. The whole time, she winced, hoping that she wasn't sticking the nozzle up the robot's version of "where the sun don't shine". She would be mortified if she was.

When Dent's gas tank was full, the pump clicked off. Maxx quickly took the nozzle out and put the gas cap back in. She set the nozzle down on the pump and pulled the metal back over the gas cap. She got back inside him, and started his engine once more. And soon, they were back on the road.

It wasn't until the sun was high overhead when Dent woke up. He hummed a little bit before he suddenly gained awareness. "M-Maxx? W-what are you _d-doing_?!" he exclaimed.

Allowing Dent to take over, she wrote a note. _'Driving. I need to get away from Tranquility as fast as possible. If Mom suddenly decided that I meant something, she'll file a missing persons report.'_ She wrote another one as Dent realized that she didn't have her hands on his steering wheel and took control. _'They'll be looking for me.'_

"Who?" he asked.

'_The police, enforcers who care about the people around them. They enforce the law and protect people.'_

It was quiet after that, and Maxx allowed Dent to drive down the highway.

* * *

Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and the newly arrived Mirage, who transformed into a Ferrari Italia, touched down in Tranquility. Amongst scrambling soldiers, they left their C-17 and transformed down into their alt-modes. Optimus opened a comm. channel with Bumblebee as they left the town, urging him to leave Sam and to follow them.

**::We must find the Cybertronian who touched down in Carmine Forest,::** Optimus told the scout, the Weapons Specialist, and the spy. **::We will search the area. There might be a chance that he was injured, and was unable to leave the area.::**

**::Roger that, Prime,::** Ironhide confirmed.

They drove into the forest and stopped by the gas station. It had closed for the day, since it had taken most of the day to fly to Nevada, so it was safe for them to transform up into their robot forms. Optimus turned to Mirage and Bumblebee. "You two, scout out the area. Ironhide and I will stay and watch for any Decepticons, and warn you if they come into the area," the Prime informed them. It was also an excuse to keep two of the largest Autobots from having to lumber through the dense forest.

The spy and the scout nodded in understanding before Mirage activated his cloaking device and disappeared and Bumblebee walked off into the trees. Ironhide and Optimus turned to stare out at the road before they collapsed back down into the alt-forms.

Bumblebee tiptoed through the forest, keeping an optic out for any sign of disturbance. His doorwings were flared as he scanned for a spark signature. The forest was awfully quiet, and it made him wonder if the Cybertronian was gone. He couldn't detect it. There was no spark signature. The newcomer was either dead or not in the area. The young Autobot grimaced, knowing that if he came across the offlined frame of the Cybertronian, he would have to call the others over, all the while guarding it.

Out of the corner of his optic, he saw a drop of blue liquid sitting on a now blue plant. His optics widened in surprise before he quickly scanned the unfortunate plant.

The plant contained Energon. Bumblebee's spark raced. The Cybertronian had still been leaking when he moved. But where did it stop? He scanned the area around the plant and discovered more of them, positioned in a zigzag pattern over a path. He followed them slowly, continuously scanning, until he crested a hill. Then his scanners picked up on a medium-sized amount of processed Energon sitting off to the left. He left the path and walked toward the drying Energon.

He kept his gaze down, in order not to step on anything other than grass. He noticed that large pieces of paper had been dropped along the ground leading towards the Energon. He stopped and picked up one and saw that it had writing on it. It had been ripped from a piece of paper, because the writing was incomplete. _'…this is how I communicate'._ His optics narrowed at the piece of paper before he subspaced it and picked up another.

'…_An accident took my voice from me.'_

_Why these notes?_ Bumblebee mused.

Another note caused his curiosity to start to itch. _'…call me Maxx. What's your name?'_

'…_remember? That's horrible!'_

'…_called you "Dent"?'_

'_You are really hurt.'_

Bumblebee went over the bits of information on the scraps of paper. The writing looked feminine, but it was hard to tell. But he had a feeling that a human had now come in contact with the Cybertronian. And with that, he comm'ed Optimus Prime.

* * *

They reached another town, and Maxx had Dent pull up in front of a cheap but nice hotel. That was where she slept that night, in a strange bed that made her worry if it was infested with bedbugs.

But once it was morning, and once she had had something to eat, they were on the road again. Maxx took the wheel and guided Dent onto the highway that lead to a small town in the middle of nowhere. She couldn't quite remember its name—it went along the lines of 'Riversborough' or 'Waterbridge'—but it would provide the necessary safe haven that she needed until any repercussions caused by her decision to leave her mother blew over.

The town wasn't even on the map anymore, and when one looked at a map, the highway that lead through it was nothing more than a faded line. But she knew it existed because she remembered that it existed. Her father had taken her to the town when she was younger in order to try out the new ATV he had gotten. The town was a little-known hub of motor-sports activities because of its location next to the Rocky Mountains and because of the large lake that sat beside it. Several of the motorists owned new homes in the town too, in order to have a place to go to during breaks.

It took a couple of hours to get there, but they managed it. And the solitude that the town seemed to possess was a welcome feeling. Because it had been a while since Maxx hadn't been continuously paranoid.

"Maxx…what will we do here once we've…um…'settled in'?" Dent asked as the pulled up in front of a small café. Maxx was surprised to see that a small Tim Hortons had been set up in the back of the café, and she could see it through the front window. It was strange to have one in such a small town when there was something close to only 745 of them total in the United States.

She acknowledged her friend's question. _'I have no idea, Dent. The motel we passed back there looked pretty rundown. I don't want to stay there. Maybe we can take shelter by those old office buildings over there?'_

"Alright…"

'_But first, I would like to get a hot chocolate from the café.'_ She went to get out, but Dent stopped her.

"Wait. You can't go in there! You can't talk to the people in there. What if they don't know what you want?" he asked.

Maxx stared at him before slowly writing another note. _'I want a hot chocolate, Dent. How else can I get it?'_

The Dodge Dart was silent. "I think I have an idea…" Suddenly, in the front passenger-seat, in a flash of blue, a man appeared. Maxx jumped and scrambled away from him, pressing her back against the driver's-side door.

Shakily, she wrote a note and showed it to the radio. _'How the heck did that man get in here? And why does he look like the character Phil Coulson from "Ironman"?'_

"Who?" the man asked, looking, or trying to look, confused, but it ended us an almost-grimace.

Maxx shrank away some more, if that was possible. _'WHO IS THIS MAN?!'_ Her chest rose and fell quickly as she began to panic. There was a strange man in Dent's cab with her! How had Dent allowed him in here? How was he tolerating this?

The man held his hands up in a defense posture. "It's okay, Maxx. It's me, Dent."

The girl blinked a few times and frowned. She slowly reached out and touched the man's arm. Her fingertips grazed over the skin on his forearm, and she sucked in a sharp gasp at the realistic texture of it. The man was there, he was real. She quickly wrote another note. _'How did you do it?'_

"I'm not sure," the man—Dent—said. "It's something a found out when I was examining my HUD screen. You were driving, so I had nothing else to do."

'_So this projection, then, which you are speaking through, is like the Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager?'_

"I…do not get that reference, but it is some kind of projection. It is solid enough to pick things up, and I can talk with it." The projection smiled, and it didn't look like a grimace. "This is how I'll get a hot chocolate for you."

'_Aw, thanks, Dent!'_

"So you want a hot chocolate?"

'_Yes. From the Tim Hortons in the back. A LARGE hot chocolate, please. Here's the money that will pay for it.'_ She held out the appropriate amount of cash to Dent's projection, and he slowly took it.

"I see. Are you sure this amount of currency is sufficient?" he asked.

She nodded.

Dent looked a little unsure. "Alright then," he said before he got out.

* * *

Dent walked into the café, and following Maxx's directions, he walked to the back where the "Tim Hortons" was. There weren't very many humans in the café, only a few were sitting at the tables, and there was only one standing behind the counter at the Tim Hortons. Even though it was very quiet and there weren't very many people in the building, Dent felt very uncomfortable. It was _too_ quiet, and he felt exposed. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. He was sure one of the humans was going to jump out of nowhere and attack him with a weapon on some sort.

He made it to the Tim Hortons counter, and managed to smile at the teenager that stood behind the counter, ready to take his order. He glanced down at the cash in his hand before he looked back up and said, "May I have a large hot chocolate?" he had a feeling he was missing something as he handed the girl behind the counter the change. Then he remembered. "Please?"

The girl nodded as she dropped the coins into the till. He watched as she disappeared into the back, and continued to watch for the girl until she returned with a paper container in which he guessed was filled with the liquid Maxx wanted. When the girl handed him the container, he nodded with gratitude before he turned and made his way back to the front door. But before he could reach the door, a man stepped out in front of him and blocked his path. Dent blinked in surprise and looked up at the man.

"Excuse…me…?" Dent said weakly.

The man that had blocked his path looked at him warily. He was taller than Dent, but he looked older than his projection did. "I'm sorry, sonny, but may I ask what your business is here in Cold Water?"

_Cold Water must be the name of this town,_ Dent mused. "Just passing through with my…daughter," it seemed to fit, Maxx being his daughter. From his former knowledge before he had forgotten who he was, he remembered what a 'daughter' was. And he figured that his projection looked old enough to be her father.

"I see," the man said. _"I never liked those punks on those dirt-bikes and ATVs…"_ Dent heard the man mutter as he returned to wherever he had been before.

Dent stared at the man as he went away before he continued on and left the building. He thought about what had happened, and for some reason, it caused an itching deep within his processor. A persistant itching.

When he got back in his alternate-form, he handed Maxx her hot chocolate before he turned the projection off. He was quiet as they pulled out and drove off towards the office buildings.

That night, when then had parked by the old office building that had an overhang, Maxx curled up in Dent's backseat as he fell asleep, using a blanket as a pillow. It was quiet as she slowly became drowsy, but before she could promptly fall asleep, a soft metallic keen sounded from the radio. Maxx wondered if people like Dent could have nightmares, since he looked an awful lot like a humanoid machine, but as Dent rocked slightly and shuttered and keened again, she knew that he was much more than a machine. He was having a nightmare.

Maxx smiled sadly and stroked along the seat she was curled up on. As she fell asleep, she hoped that it would provide him some comfort.

* * *

**I can only wonder what happens next! I'll start working on the next chapter right away!**

* * *

**Iceshadow911247:** Yeah :D I have a feeling that when you are saying curly hair is suspicious, you're thinking of Spike Witwicky. XD And an Optimus Prime-esque truck? Hmm…gotta wonder… *chuckles* There wasn't a close shave this chapter, since Optimus, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Mirage are still back in Carmine Forest…or are they?

**KayleeChiara:** I enjoyed my trip very well, thank you, though it had some mishaps. You will have no idea what will happen. I can be a very sneaky writer.

**Topkicker26:** Loved the idea, as I've already said. You've got a good imagination *thumbs up*

Yeah, now that I think about it, the image Dent portrayed when Maxx sat down in him was hilarious. I think it was because of him getting used to things and all that XD

**zrexheartz:** Thanks! More will be up!

**Ninnasims3:** I had a good time, but I was so busy that I didn't have time to write all that much :( But I'm glad you like this story this much.

**STARSCREAM RULEZ: **Your welcome. Thanks. Yeah, Dent alone? Can't wait to see what happens. He might slip into his old personality when he has to face a Decepticon. I'll try to make a good battle scene when I do. And as for the memories, a lot of them won't be cannon because there isn't enough information of him. But of course, I don't want to give him away _just_ yet either.

**sweettea1:** Doesn't matter how late the review is :) They do make a good team, don't they? And some people are like that (but I've never heard of a story like that in real life yet.

**Sapphire daughter of Poseidon:** Interesting. Optimus sighting number two! What is he up to, I wonder? *laughs*

**EverBear01:** Yeah, that's what I like about this story :)


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